Improved



l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. l

E. L. PRATT, oE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPRCVED APPLE-FABER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40, l 85, dated October 6, 1863.

To all -wz/om it may concern.-

Beit known that I, E. L. PRATT, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apple-Paring Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawings which accompany and form part of this specification, is a description of my invention sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

In apple-paring machines, as usually made, after the knife has operated over the surface of the apple and arrived at the farther end thereof, it is released and flies back to its original or normal position, to commence on the neXt apple. ln thus flying back the knife or knifehead strikes against and jams the surface of the pared apple; and my improvement consists in so operating the rod or arm that carries the cutter'head and knife that the knife and cutter-head Shall clear the surface of the apple as they spring back after paring the same.

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 of which represents a plan of an apple-paring machine having the improvement applied to it, and Fig. 2 a vertical crosssection taken on the line x x of Fig. 1.

The machine shown is made and operated Ato pare the apple as is usual with many or all of these machines in common use, and it will not be necessary, therefore, to particularly describe its construction or operation, which will readily be understood from inspection of the drawings.

The plate a, which actuates the knife-arm c, is applied to the end of the shaft b, and has an elongated slot, d, made in it, in which the arm c works in the usual manner, and as the knife is carried around the apple by this plate the spring 11 draws the arm toward the apple, and keeps the knife against its surface. The lower side of this slot has a depression, e, extending from it, as seen in Fig. 2, such depression being made of a size suticient to receive the arm c. To one side of the frame-work A of the machine, and adjacent to the bearing f of the shaft b, Iapply a cam-plate, g, having an inclined cam-surface, h. On the opposite side of the shaft, and extending up from the frame A, and just in rear of the depression e of the slot d, as seen in Fig. 2, is a stopplate,

7c. The operation of this depression e, cam h, and lifter-plate k on the arm c serves to carry said arm into the depression after the knife has pared the apple, to keep the arm in such depression while the knife is thrown back, and to release the arm from the depression and allow the spring to draw it into its normal position, or in position to commence paring another apple.

The operation ofthe invention is as follows As the apple is rotated on its fork l, and the knife begins to traverse around it by the cooperating rotation ofthe slotted plate a, on its shaft b, the arm c is pressed outward into the slot by the enlargement of the apple. As the knife reaches or nearly reaches the opposite end of the axis of the apple, the arm c is brought into contact with the inclined camface h of the plate g, and as the shaft b continues to rotate the arm c is carried outward by the inclination of the cam, and is pressed against the upper Surface of the slot d until it is pushed into the depression e, which is made narrow at its mouth or opening, so that as the arm slips therein, as Seen by dotted linesin Fig. 2, it is held there by the retraction of the sprin g i. The knife has now been carried beyond or away from the surface of the apple, so that when the cogged sector on the shaft bis next released from the gear rotating it, as is usual in these machines, and the spring on the shaft carries the knife-arm and knife around the surface of the apple, the depression e retains the knife-arm and keeps the knife and cutter-head from contact with the apple. The arm keeps in the depression until it reaches the top of the stopeplate k, when it is held or stopped by said plate until the depression descends below it, when the arm is drawn by the spring down its slot d, and the knife is brought to its normal position.

In the use of apple-paring machines as now made much trouble is experienced from the cutter and cutter-head striking against the pared surface and jamming or detaching portions thereof, which trouble my improve in the manner and by the mechanism, subment Will be found to Wholly obviate, as the stantially as described.

knife and cutter-head are kept entirely away Executed this 12th day of September, A. D. from such surface after the paring operation 1863.

is performed. E. L. PRATT.

What I claim is- In presenoeof- Keeping the knife and cutter-head from the J. B. CROSBY, surface of the apple, after the sinne is pared, FRANCIS GoULD. 1 

